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Nov 11, 2022

A Map to the Hawk Universe


For Hawkman Day 2022, I decided to make a map of Hawkman's history in the style of Grant Morrison's amazing Map of the Multiverse that came out in 2014. My Hawkmap is nothing as grand and deep as Morrison's, but I wanted to make something that showed Hawkman's history and important information all on one page. Here are the details of the map.

On the left is a list of all the Hawkman comics and series from 1940 to 2021. From 1940-1951, you can find Hawkman stories in Flash Comics and All-Star Comics. Hawkman got his first solo series in 1964. From 1969-1985, Hawkman did not have his own series but often had backup features in Detective Comics (1972-1981) and World's Finest Comics (1979-1982). Since 1964, Hawkman (and Hawkgirl of course) have had several series, miniseries, tie-ins, and one-shots. I also included other series that are essential in the Hawks' history. There are way too many to list on the chart, but you can find the full list here. The most recent series, Hawkman Vol. V ended at the end of 2020. As of November 2022, we have gotten three short stories in DC anthologies and a Black Adam tie-issue. 

On the right is a list of the main characters, their origins, and their main bases during each era. I also placed three Hawkman items on the list, Hawkman's mace, his helmet, and the Claw of Horus. On the bottom is a list of dimensions and planets that have appeared in Hawkman stories over the years. I tried to add the ones that are significant in some way in the Hawks' history. The dimensions go around the chart counterclockwise, and the planets go clockwise. I added these to show just how rich and widespread Hawkman's history has been. 

I divided Hawkman's history into four major eras; the Golden Age (1040-1051), the Silver and Bronze Age (1961-1987), the Modern Age (1989-2011), and the New 52/Rebirth Era (2011-2021). 

In the Golden Age, there are Carter Hall and Shiera Saunders, Egypt, New York, Hath-Set and Gentleman Ghost, Big Red (Hawkman's hawk friend), and the Justice Society.

In the Silver-Bronze Age, there are Katar and Shayera Hol, Thanagar, Midway City, Byth and Shadow Thief, the Justice League of America, and the JLA-JSA crossovers. 

In the Modern Age, there are Katar Hol and Shayera Thal, Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders, Thanagar, Chicago, St. Roch, Count Viper and Onimar Synn, Hawkman's return from the realm of death, and the JSA. 

In the New 52/Rebirth, there are Katar Hol and Kendra Munoz-Saunders, Carter Hall and Shayera Hol, Kendra Saunders, Qgga, Lord of the Void and Idamm, Forger of Worlds, Justice Society, and 4000 A.D. Carter Hall and Shayera Hol. 

In the center of the chart is an Nth metal globe. I used a free photo of polished Bronze. I've heard that Nth metal could be more like glass as well, but I thought this fit the globe well. The inside ring symbolizes time and space, and the outside ring shows the reincarnation cycle. 

At the top of the chart, I made a section called "Judgement." In the Venditti series, I do not believe that the God-like entity was ever named. However, I recently made an interesting discovery. I decided to look into Egyptian gods of judgment and I came across a goddess called Maat. She is the goddess of truth, justice, judgment, and cosmic order. She also had wings. She is related to Horus the god of the sky. One of Hawkman's former lives is Prince Khufu. Khufu's full name is Khufu Maat Kha-tar. Very interesting. 
On the bottom of the chart is the "Lord Beyond the Void." This entity was the creator of Ktar Deathbringer but was blocked from entering the Multiverse when Ktar realized what he was doing was wrong and defeated the Deathbringer army. 

At the four corners of the chart, I posted four versions of Hawkman's ships.
Thanagarian Star Cruiser (top right): This was the cruiser that Hawkman and Hawkgirl used during most of the Silver and Bronze Age.
Sirius (bottom right): During the Hawkworld series, there were several ships, but the most impressive by far was a sentient ship called the Sirius. 
Brontadon (bottom left): The ship that Hawkman used during the Hawkman Vol. 4 run. 
Soarship (top left): The ship that Hawkman used as his base during the Vol. V Venditti run. 

Credit to the artists of the art I used. 
Sheldon Moldoff
E.E. Hibbard
Joe Kubert 
Marcos Martin
Mike Sekowsky
Neal Adams 
David Ross
Tim Truman
Graham Nolan
Stephen Sadowski
Alex Ross
Rags Morales
Ivan Reis
Dale Eaglesham
Joe Bennett
Nicola Scott
Gary Frank
Jorge Jimenez
Bryan Hitch
Fernando Pasarin
Mikel Janin 

Hawkman and Hawkwoman have truly been blessed by having some of the greatest artists in comics' history draw their series. 

I also used Robert Venditti's "Across time and space" from the recent Hawkman series. It's a perfect phrase that goes hand in hand with Hawkman's reincarnation cycle. Couldn't leave that out. 

It is my hope that any comic book fan or reader can look at this map and get a general idea of Hawkman's history. To help fill out the details, I've put together some charts, lists and articles to explain the amazing history of the Hawks so take a dive and go soaring with the Hawks! 

History of Hawkman
Flow chart of Hawkman's history
List of Hawkman comics 

Note: This map was created in A2 (420 x 594 mm or 16.5 x 23.4 inches) size. If you want the original size, send me a message at houseofhawkman@gmail.com and I'll send it to you the first chance I get. 

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